Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Tashkent to attend theAnnual Meeting of the Defence Ministers' of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member States


SCO Summit in Tashkent: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is currently on his visit to Tashkent (Uzbekistan) to attend the Annual Meeting of the Defence Ministers' of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member States.

  • He is on a on a three-day visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Key Points:

  • During the Annual Meeting, Defence Cooperation issues among the SCO Member States will be discussed.
  • It is expected that a joint communiqué will be issued after the deliberations.
  • Shri Rajnath Singh's address at the meeting is slated to be held on August 24, 2022.
  • The Defence Minister will meet his Uzbekistan counterpart Lieutenant General Bakhodir Kurbano.
  • In addition, meetings are also scheduled with Defence Ministers’ of some other Member countries of SCO on the side-lines of this meeting, where bilateral issues and issues of mutual interest will be discussed.
  • During his stay in Tashkent, Mr Rajnath Singh will pay homage at the monument of Late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and also meet Indian Diaspora in Uzbekistan.

SCO summit 2022:

  • The SCO summit is going to be held in Samarkand on 15-16 September.
  • The heads of government of 8-member countries including India, Russia, China, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are participating in it.

About Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO):

  • The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) also dubbed as Shanghai Pact, is a Eurasian political, economic & security alliance.
  • The SCO is the successor to the Shanghai Five, a mutual security agreement formed in 1996 between China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
  • On 15 June 2001, the leaders of these nations and Uzbekistan met in Shanghai to announce a new organization with deeper political and economic cooperation.
  • The SCO Charter was signed on 7 July 2002 and entered into force on 19 September 2003.
  • Its membership has since expanded to eight states, with India and Pakistan joining on 9 June 2017 at Astana summit of SCO.
  • The SCO is governed by the Heads of State Council (HSC), its supreme decision-making body, which meets once a year.

Why was the SCO established?

  • The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established as a multilateral association to ensure security and maintain stability across the vast Eurasian region, join forces to counteract emerging challenges and threats, and enhance trade, as well as cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

India has shown a keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

 


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